Put on your seatbelts, Tesla Model 3 is going on sale this week

Here's everything you need to know

Elon Musk is probably the only person in the world who rivals the Indian PM Modi in terms of news-making capacity. When he’s not busy planning sending people to Mars or boring tunnels in LA, he’s probably working on dishing out a ‘ludicrous’ electric car. And this week’s no different – coming straight out of launching three rockets in a span of two weeks through SpaceX, Musk’s flagship venture Tesla is now gearing up to launch their long-awaited mass-market EV, the Model 3.

When is it out?

The Model 3 is scheduled to go on sale on July 7. And unlike Musk’s other exploits, which border on the fantastical, the Model 3 is already one of the most popular products Tesla has come up with. Even as it stands ready for a launch, some 400,000 people have already signed up for pre-orders of the Model 3. Musk tweeted this week that Model 3 has just passed all regulatory tests and is awaiting a production serial number by Friday this week. He further informed that the first few Model 3s will be handed over to the soon-to-be-owners as early as 28th of this month.

What will it have?

The Model 3 has widely been publicised as Tesla’s first true mass-market EV, but that doesn’t mean it’s cheap. The EV will be priced at a still competitive $35,000, considering it rivals the likes of Porsche in terms of performance. The car has reportedly passed regulatory tests a whole two weeks ahead of schedule and as such is ready to make good on Musk’s claim last year that people who put down $1,000 to pre-order the Model 3 will start getting their cars from July this year. As for the specs, the mass-market car’s primary advantage will be its 215 miles per charge (approx 350 km). While nothing close to the Model S’ Ludicrous mode, the Model 3 is touted to have a sub 6-second time of 0-60 mph, which squarely puts it in premium car territory. While it is a mass-market product, it comes with after sales customisations that can bring it closer to its other cousins in terms of performance. Of course, the Model 3 will also feature Tesla’s landmark Autopilot feature as a standard.